This document summarizes a project to restore degraded forests in Ghana through collaboration with local communities. The project established 100 hectares of plantations with 12 indigenous tree species across 4 communities. It built the capacities of communities in nursery production and plantation establishment. The plantations have survival rates over 90% and growth rates matching or exceeding exotic species. Lessons included the importance of addressing community needs, benefit sharing arrangements, and ensuring technical support after project completion to sustain restoration efforts.

1. RESTORATION OF DEGRADED
FOREST WITH COLLABORATION OF
LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN GHANA
THE CASE OF PAMU BEREKUM
D. Blay, F. K. Dwomoh & L. Damnyag
FORESTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF GHANA

2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE
• Introduction
• Methods
• Project Results and Achievements
• Lessons Learnt
• Conclusions
• Recommendations

3. INTRODUCTION
• Forests are being lost at alarming rate in Ghana
• Forest land declined from 8.1 million ha to 2.1
million ha within the last century
• The declining forest resources impact negatively
on human livelihood and the environment
• Therefore urgent measures needed to curb
continuous degradation & deforestation
• Hence an ITTO‐funded project implemented by
FORIG to rehabilitate some degraded forests with
collaboration of local communities (2000‐2005)

4. Project Objectives
1) To determine the underlying causes of forest degradation and the
impact of forest degradation on the lives of local communities
2) To determine the impact of forest degradation on the forest
ecosystem and the processes of recovery after degradation in
these ecosystems
3) To establish, in collaboration with the local communities,
demonstration plantations for rehabilitating the degraded forests
and to strengthen the capacities of local communities in plantation
establishment.
4) To determine the costs of establishment, maintenance and
protection of plantations by local communities.
5) To establish guidelines for community involvement in plantation
establishment that could serve as a model in tropical countries.

5. METHODS
Project sites:
• 4 forest fringe communities around Pamu
Berekum Forest Reserve (Dry‐Semi‐Deciduous) in
Dormaa Forest District

6. Methods (cont’d)
• Awareness campaigns
• PRA techniques
• Workshops (including start‐up workshop)
– To ensure stakeholders understood the project concept,
opportunities, limits and modalities, roles &
responsibilities, collaborative planning & implementation,
effective community management and community
ownership
• Capacity building
– provided local communities with technical expertise and
guidance to establish plantations in degraded areas
• Plantation establishment

7. RESULTS/ACHIEVEMENTS
• Capacities of local communities built in nursery
production and plantation establishment in degraded
forests
• The establishment of 100 ha of plantations on degraded
sites using 12 indigenous tree species:
i. Albizia zygia i. Khaya anthotheca
ii. Alstonia boonei ii. Khaya ivorensis
iii. Aningeria robusta viii. Nauclea dederichii,
iv. Ceiba pentandra ix. Pericopsis elata
v. Entandrophragma angolense x. Terminalia ivorensis
vi. Entandrophragma utilis xi. Terminalia superba
• Model plantations made of indigenous Ghanaian tree
species

8. • Survival rates for all the
indigenous species were above
90%
• Growth rates in trees correspond
well to or exceed those found in
such exotic species as teak
• Restoring biodiversity in project
areas brought corresponding
increases in NTFP species.
• Provision of livelihood to the
local communities through the
food crop they inter‐planted in
plantations and training in grass
cutter rearing as alternative
livelihood
Natural regeneration of Milicia excelsa in the 4‐
year old plantation understory in Southern Scarp

9. A degraded forest landscape at a project site in Pamu Brekum FR

10. A degraded forest landscape in one of the
The same project site restored by the
project sites, Pamu Berekum FR prior to
ITTO project 4 years later
project implementation

11. Restored project site at Southern scarp FR (Begoro) 8 years after
planting

12. LESSONS LEARNT
Lessons for the success as well as shortcomings of the project
Success
• Project objectives were consistent with the needs and
constraints of the local communities.
• Project start‐up workshops are useful to ensure success of
projects involving many partners, including local communities.
• The local communities had a genuine interest in using their
lands to produce both food crops and NTFPs. The project just
provided a learning point into that dual need.

13. • The local communities benefited from the project, in
terms of food, NTFPs and income generation
• Appropriate incentives were provided to the local
people in the form of equipment (boots, cutlasses,
nursery equipment etc)
• The project organization and management was good
– There were key staff who had defined responsibilities.
Some staff of the project were in other institutions which
time schedule and activities did not allow them to
implement activities as and when required.

14. Shortcomings
Shortcomings which if addressed could have led to greater success
• Lack of policy and legal backing hampers community based
rehabilitation initiatives (this has recently been addressed)
• Lack of clarity on land and tree ownership issues (also recently
addressed)
• Lack of pre‐project baseline data on local communities (socio‐
economic conditions)
• Lack of provision for ensuring project sustainability and ensuring
preventive measures and incentives to stop the people from repeating
activities responsible for degradation
• Project sustainability after ITTO funding has not yet been
resolved with the Forest Services Division
• Another operational lesson was with the inadequate supervision
of and regular provision of technical advice to the local
communities

15. CONCLUSION
• The project was successful and had the active collaboration of the local
people
• The local communities were actively involved in the planning,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project.
• Results obtained are of great importance for sustainable timber
production, community development & benefits, biodiversity
conservation and forest restoration
• Capacity building of the local communities in nursery production,
plantation establishment as well as fire protection and control were given
considerable attention in the project.
• Significant was the provision of incentives to the participating farmers as
well as regular consultations of the communities with the project technical
staff.
• This project demonstrated that reversing tropical forest degradation is
possible. For this we need local involvement in tree domestication
combined with activities that address livelihood needs and environmental
concerns.

16. RECOMMENDATIONS
• Project start‐up workshops should be organized for all projects at
their inception.
– Project start‐up workshops are useful to ensure success of projects
involving many partners, including local communities.
• The issues and arrangements to be discussed, clarified and agreed
upon must include roles and responsibilities of each actor or
partner, the concerns and needs of the local people who are the
immediate beneficiaries, as well as benefit‐sharing arrangements.
• Meeting some of these needs at the start of the project can
stimulate effective participation from some actors
• Benefit sharing arrangements agreed upon should be endorsed by
all stakeholders including traditional authorities and local
community representatives.

17. • Pre‐project baseline data on local communities (socio‐economic
conditions) should be part of all future projects because they are
important to fully assess project impacts later.
• Few institutions should be involved in implementation of future
projects.
• However no matter the number of parties, a memorandum of
understanding should be signed by all interested parties and this
should be carried out to the last letter.
• The local communities should be equipped in terms of capacity and
resources to effectively manage the plantations they have
established
• Personnel supervising projects and providing technical advice
should be full time so that they will be available when farmers and
other local community members need them.

18. Acknowledgement
• ITTO
• Government of Ghana
• Project team

19. THANK YOU